Family & Pets

Best Places For Apple Picking Near Atlanta

As the temperature cools down, apple season heats up. Enjoy the changing seasons with an activity the whole family can enjoy. Apple season begins in September and north Georgia is home to several apple orchards. This fall, pack up your family and travel north for a fun day of apple picking. When you return home, take your handpicked apples and bake a delicious apple pie. After a bite of these ripe fruits, you’ll no longer be praising the Georgia peach.

Family-owned B.J. Reece Apple House offers U-Pick Orchards. Guests can enjoy picking various apple harvests including Braeburn, Mutsu Golden, Red Delicious, Red Rome Beauty and more. As an added bonus, visitors can pick peaches as well until mid-September. For children, B.J. Reece offers an apple cannon and a petting farm to keep them entertained. There is also an on-site bakery stacked with breads, donuts and pies. Get some inspiration from one of these treats and try your hand at recreating them at home with your new fresh ingredients.Related:Best Indoor Playgrounds in Atlanta

From September 8th through October 28th, visit Hillcrest Orchards on the weekends for its “Apple Pickin’ Jubilee.” Pick your own apples from Hillcrest’s dwarf apple trees. Kids can enjoy Hillcrest’s newest attraction; the Giant Jumping Pillow and the Corny Kids Maze. There is also a large number of traditional activities available including mule-drawn wagon rides, pedal cars, a petting farm and pig racing. Hillcrest is also home to the Farmhouse Museum and the Moonshine Museum.

Panorama is a family fruit farm circa the 1920s with 20 varieties of apples. It also has an apple packing line and cold storage for 10,000 bushels. Feast on one of Panorama’s signature fried pies and its newest edition: homemade fudge. These orchards also offer fresh cider and a unique line of baked goods including applesauce bread, apple brandy cake and classic baked apple pie. Try getting creative with your own apple recipe.

The Futch family has managed to make apple picking a year-round business venture at R&A Orchards. Families can take pleasure in farm tours and apple picking every weekend during the month of September. R&A also has the Roadside Market where it sells specialty items including dried apples, dressings, preserves, salsas and more.

Pick apples from Red Apple Barn throughout September and enjoy some of the best fruit in the area. Apple picking ends in September or whenever all apples have been picked. There is a tractor ride that takes guests to and from the orchard and on a tour of the farm. Enjoy an apple cider donut with a cold cup of apple cider. Can you think of a better pairing that that?